Toms River Man Hospitalized After North Jersey Standoff

SECAUCUS, NJ — A Toms River man was arrested Tuesday after a police chase that ended with him driving into the Hackensack River, according to a report.

The 51-year-old man, whose name was not released, appeared to be suffering a mental health episode, Secaucus police told The Jersey Journal.

Manchester Township police on Thursday said this man is not Erik Zakrzewski. The search continues for Zakrzewski, who has been missing since Monday, they said.

Secaucus police, in a post on the department's Facebook page, said the man was involved in a hit-and-run crash and drove into the river near Paterson Plank Road late in the morning Tuesday.

"The male was then talked to by the SPD crisis negotiator, where he finally surrendered," the police department said. The Jersey Journal report said the standoff lasted two hours.

The Jersey Journal report said the man told police to kill him several times. He also pulled off his shirt and put it around his neck trying to hurt himself, the report said.

Secaucus police said the man was taken to Jersey City Medical Center for evaluation, and criminal charges were pending.

New Jersey State Police, the East Rutherford, Carlstadt and Lyndhurst police departments, the Hudson County Sheriff's Department, the Secaucus Fire Department, Hudson Regional Hospital EMS and Secaucus OEM assisted.

The 51-year-old, who police said appeared to be experiencing a mental health episode, repeatedly told police to kill him and at one point ripped off his shirt and put it around his neck in an attempt to hurt himself, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said.